Le Petit Oiseau
by DarkSecretWaterbender
Summary: A series of oneshots about Gavroche, each one based on a sentence or prompt. The title is French for "The Little Bird".
1. First Friend

**Author's note: **Well, here it is. Another Les Mis story. And it's about Gavroche again. I can't help it, that kid is just so awesome! As I said in the summary, this will be a series of oneshots about Gavroche, each one based on a sentence or prompt. Enjoy! At the end of each chapter I'll give the meanings of any French words I use.

**Update 10/22/13:** I edited this to remove the song lyrics. I realized that's kind of not allowed and I don't want to get in trouble. I've already had one story removed for that.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Les Mis, any of the characters, or the song "Castle on a Cloud".

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_**Cosette was his first friend.**_

Seven-year-old Cosette stepped hesitantly toward the cradle. More than anything, she wanted to hold the baby. Like most little girls, she loved babies, but she had never before been so near to one, much less had the chance to hold one.

And now the Thenardiers' new son—what was his name?—was right in front of her, looking at her with his bright blue eyes as if he wanted her to pick him up. If she was caught, though, she would be in big trouble—she would be beaten and get no dinner, and probably nothing to eat the next day either. _Better not risk it_, she thought. She turned to leave the room.

Still, there was no one around, and she'd probably never get another chance... _I'll do it._

She went back to the cradle and lifted the child into her small arms. "Hello, _petit,_" she crooned. "I'm Cosette."

The baby cooed. "Your parents never gave you a name, did they?" She continued. "I think I'll call you Petit Bleu, because you have blue eyes."

She held the boy (now called Petit Bleu) close and sang very softly the first few lines of her song. It was a song about a beautiful castle on a cloud where everyone was happy.

Before she could sing the rest of it, she heard someone coming. Quickly, Cosette put Petit Bleu back in the cradle and left.

She never got to hold him again, but she sometimes was able to see him for a few minutes before the Thenardiers caught her, and once or twice she even sang to him again about the castle on a cloud.

It was a strange kind of friendship, and it was forgotten entirely when Cosette left a year later. Never again was he called Petit Bleu. He had no proper name, and his family called him different things. His parents called him Boy at the best of times and Brat at the worst of times, and Runt in between. His sisters, who were kinder, called him _petit frère. _Later, when he left his family and took to the streets, he chose a name for himself: Gavroche.

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**Glossary of French words**

_Petit -_ Little one (masculine)

_Petit Bleu_ - Little Blue

_Petit frère_ - Little brother

**Author's note:** I know this was short. This may turn out to be a series of drabbles. But that's good too, right? Right. I also realize this was more about Cosette than Gavroche, at least at the beginning. That probably won't happen again, but I can't promise anything. I can promise that each chapter will feature Gavroche.

I admit I kind of got this idea from the anime _Les Misèrables Shoujo Cosette._ In the anime, Gavroche is old enough to be friends with Cosette while she's at the Thenardiers', and to remember her after she leaves. They're like siblings and it's very sweet. I thought I'd put some of that in this story. If anyone wants to watch the anime, tell me in a review and I can give you the link to a site where you can watch it with English subtitles. (It used to be available on AnimeCrazy, but they shut down. Luckily, I found another site.)

One more thing: If you have a prompt or an idea for the story, leave it in a review or shoot me a PM. Otherwise, I'll just be coming up with the prompts myself.

_Au revior pour l'instant!_ (Goodbye for now!) Please review!


	2. Freedom and A Name

**Author's note: **Welcome back, _mes bon peuple_ (my good people)! This chapter tells how Gavroche took to the streets and chose a name for himself. It takes place right after they Thenardiers arrive in Paris.

The sentence that starts it off isn't mine; that's why it's in quotes. It comes from Hugo's description of Gavroche in the novel.

Just a heads-up, this story is now listed under Books, not Play/Musicals. I realized it's really based more on the novel.

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_**"The pavement was not so hard to him as the heart of his mother."**_

"You! Runt!"

The boy answered without looking at him. "Yes, _Père_?"

Thenardier walked up to his son and pulled him to his feet. "You look at me when I'm talking to you! We can't afford three children. You have to leave."

The boy was confused. "Leave? What do you mean?"

"Idiot boy! You can't live here anymore. You are not welcome."

The six-year-old stared at his father for half a minute. Emotions swarmed over his face. Shock, hurt, and anger. For a split second, his face crumpled as if he was about to cry. Then he stood up straight and gave his father a hard look. "All right, I will!" He started toward the door.

"Petit frère! Wait!" Eponine cried. "Papa, you can't do this!"

The child turned and smiled at her and Azelma. "_Au revoir, mes soeurs_." Then he went out the door, down the steps, and out of the Gorbeau building.

Once on the street, his courage failed him. He stood bewildered, staring at the building. He was not thinking, not feeling, just staring.

Suddenly he gave himself a good shake and forced himself to laugh. "Well!" he said. "Here I am. I can't go back, so I must go on."

He walked away from the building, singing:

"_Frère Jaques, frère Jaques,  
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?  
Sonnez les matines!_ _Sonnez les matines!_  
_Ding_, _dang, dong_. _Ding, dang, dong._"

Inside the building, the portess, having heard everything, wondered how a child who had been turned out of the house at such a young age could be so lighthearted. The truth was that although he was very frightened and wondered what he would do now, he was glad to be free from his father and mother.

As he was walking along and singing, something occurred to him: He should have a name. As far as he could remember, he had never been called anything but Boy, Runt, Brat, and petit frère. None of those were true names. He would have to come up with one.

That night he slept in an alley, on the wet pavement, with no protection from the cold night air or the rain that fell, but he liked that better than his home.

He thought for a long time about what to call himself. Toward morning, he came up with, in his opinion, a good, strong name.

The next day, he was asked his name by a baker who, having sympathy for the homeless boy, had given him some bread.

For the first time in his life, the brave child did not have to lower his eyes in shame and admit, "I haven't any." For the first time in his life, he could answer proudly, "My name's Gavroche!"

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**Glossary of French words**

_Père - _Father

_Au revoir, mes soeurs - _Goodbye, my sisters.

**Note about the song: **I'm sure almost everyone is familiar with Frère Jaques. For those who aren't, it's an old French folk song for children—sort of a lullaby. It's traditionally translated as:

"Are you sleeping, are you sleeping,  
Brother John? Brother John?  
Morning bells are ringing! Morning bells are ringing!  
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong."

According to Wikipedia, however, a more accurate translation would be:

"Brother Jacob, brother Jacob,  
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?  
Ring the Matins bells! Ring the Matins bells!  
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong."

I know it doesn't sound like something that Gavroche would sing, but when he was six I think he might.

**Please review! Ideas are welcome.**


	3. Protection

**Author's note: **This takes place when the Thenardiers are still at the inn, so it's before Gavroche chose his name. For the sake of convenience, I'm calling him Petit Bleu in the narrative. Read chapter 1 to see why.

Also, sorry for the late update.

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_**Eponine had always looked out for him.**_

Petit Bleu was hiding under his bed. His father had screamed at him, slapped him, and sent him upstairs without anything to eat, despite the fact that the four-year-old had had nothing to eat all day.

Petit Bleu heard footsteps on the stairs. He felt his heart in his throat. _Is it Father?_

The footsteps came nearer and her heard a voice call out. "_Petit frère_? Are you up here?"

The boy relaxed. _It's only Ponine._

He crawled out from under the bed. "Yah, I'm here."

She gently pulled him to his feet. "Are you all right?"

He nodded. "I'm all right."

"Good," Éponine gave her brother a quick hug. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I brought you some bread."

"Really?" His eyes widened at the prospect of food. "But—won't Father be mad?"

"He doesn't have to know." She took a piece of bread from her pocket and put it in his hand. "No arguments. Eat."

Petit Bleu took the bread and ate it hungrily. "_Merci_, Ponine," he smiled at her. "I was really hungry."

She ruffled his hair. "I know. Why don't you go to sleep? Tomorrow will be better."

"A'right." The boy got into his small, less-than-comfortable bed. In a very few minutes, he was asleep.

Later that night, Éponine heard frightened whimpers coming from her brother. He was tossing and turning, occasionally crying "Father, no!" or "Stop!"

She went over to his bed and shook him gently. She wanted to wake him before his cries disturbed their parents. "Petit frère, wake up!"

He opened his eyes with a gasp. When he saw where he was, his expression changed from one of terror to one of sadness and he threw his arms around her, tears streaming down his small face.

Surprised by this gesture, Éponine stared for a moment before returning the hug. She spoke gently. "Was it a dream?"

He nodded vigorously. "Father was beatin' me cause I didn't do what he wanted. He killed me."

She hugged him tighter. "That won't ever happen, frère. I won't let him do that."

The little boy slowly let out his breath. "All right." He was silent for a time. Then he smiled at his sister, tears still wet on his cheeks. "I love you, Ponine."

She smiled back. "I love you too." She hesitated before continuing. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why don't you call our father 'papa', the way Azelma and I do?"

Petit Bleu's face darkened. "Cause he's not my papa. Papas are nice, and he's never nice to me." With that, he curled up and went back to sleep, safe in the arms of his oldest sister, his protector.

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**Glossary of French Words:**

_Petit frère -_ Little brother

_Merci _- Thank you

**Please review! Do you think Éponine was too OOC?**


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